Tenzing Sonam is a Tibetan film director, writer and essayist.
Background
Sonam was born in Darjeeling to Tibetan refugee parents. His father, Lhamo Tsering, who was born in the Kumbum area of Amdo (Chinese: Qinghai Province), served as Chief of Operations for the Tibetan resistance movement from the late 50s until the early 70s, and later, as a Minister in the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile. His mother, Tashi Dolma, was from a village near Lhasa in central Tibet.
Career
He did his undergraduate studies at Street Stephens College, Delhi University. After a year each at Scottsdale Community College in Arizona and Santa Monica College in California, he went to the University of California, Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism where he specialised in documentary filmmaking. After his graduation from Delhi University in 1978, Sonam worked for a year in the Security Department of the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamshala.
He then worked as a dishwasher in Manhattan, a gardener in Scottsdale and a janitor in Berkeley.
He was the manager of Delegate Rey Carolina Wash in Marina del Rey, California, for a year. In 1991, he and Sarin founded White Crane Films.
He has been an independent filmmaker ever since.